Tales and legends of smoky drams, mystical peats and seducing waters. I blog in English and Finnish from now on.

Friday, October 3, 2014

A Mystery Speyside that takes it tasty and peaty

It is always a delight to receive a new whisky bottle. This time I was surprised with a real mystery, that was stirred by people-in-between who don’t really know much about whisky. And they don’t have to, but it might take a while before I know what this one is. What I know, is that it is directly from a cask.. The shop, where the cask was among others, is in Nuremberg, Germany. So, it is straight from the cask. But with 40% ABV most likely it is not a single cask dram. It is of Speyside origin, with a nice amount of peat in it. And it is a blended malt, so I can suppose those malts are of Speyside origin. The age statement is 10 years, so the youngest malt vatted in the casks should be 10 years old. A true mystery.
It is nicely oily and has a strong peat nose in it. Some smokiness, some lemon pepper and a fine amount of stories from those old medieval castles, which have cold floors and damp rooms during the winter.
The palate is classy, like a victorian age big chair. It has broidery, figures, stylish cuts and lots of taste. Not weak by any means, but a big lit fireplace in the corner that keeps the room warm. The flames produce light that dances on those ancient walls and stones. There are no sounds, but the crackle of fire. Pepper is absent, instead a light smoke accompanies peat and fruits with some elegantly aged spices. This one is gentle and it is not longing to dash into a battle anymore. It enjoys the moments of peace and looks at the big moon with a wide smile.
The finish is long, compared to most vatted malts. It has a lots of peat in it, thus it keeps the strong characteristics until the final breath. In the end, the slight tingle remains on the tongue. Not bad, not bad at all. One more excellent Speyside to be scribed into my scroll of drams.